Foot-cleaner



(No Model.)

A. G. BIRGE.

FOOT CLEANER.

110.441,921. Patented Dec. 2, 1890.

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UNITED 'STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN Q BIRGE, or cLEvELAN/D, onto.

FOOT-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,921, dated December2, 1890.

Application iiled May 24, 1890. Serial No. 353,000. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern! Be it known that I, ALVIN C. BIRGE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Foot-Cleaners; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention whichwill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

My invention relates to boot or shoe cleaners; and the object of theinvention is to provide a convenient, cheap, and effective cleaneradapted to be fastened in position on or about the door-step andconstructed to clean the foot all around upon the sides of the shoe aswell as at the heel and toe, a scraper being provided to clean the soleof the shoe.

To this end the invention consists in a Vcleaner for boots or shoesformed of brushes arranged in respect to one another, substantially asshown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of myimprovedcleaning device, showing the foot entering between the brushes and thedotted lines showing one brush moved round so as to be in position toclean the toe of the shoe. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cleaner, showingthe brushes in reversed position from that shown in Fig. l, as when thefoot has been carried through from the position seen in Fig. l, or isstarted in that position to clean.

A represents a base, which may be of any suitable shape and size, andmade out of any suitable material, such as wood or iron. I prefer woodfor the reason that it is lighter than iron, and therefore moreconvenient in handling. This base is provided with screws d, throughwhich it is temporarily fastened to the floor, so as to make the cleanerstationary.

At one end of the board is a scraper B for cleaning the soles or bottomsof the shoes, as usual, and C and D represent two brushes set upon theiredges transversely to the base with their faces opposite one. another.These brushes may be made of any suitable material and style adapted todo the work, and are arranged at such distance apart that when the footis introduced between them the brushes on both sides will be in goodcleansing contact with the shoe. OE course the brushes are made out ot'yielding and springy material, so that thereby they are adapted toreceive and clean shoes of difterent sizes. The brush C is fixed to thehase by a bolt c through its center, or by other equivalent means, andis free to turn wlthiu the limit of stops c', and the brush D isfastened by the bolt-spindle d to swing horizontally thereon a completerotation, or nearly, so that the face of the brush may be exposed, asseen in dotted lines, Fig. l, where it is adapted to clean the toe ofthe shoe, or the heel, or both, as may be required. Thus 1n Fig. l thetoe of a shoe is shown as proJected against the face of brush D, and thebrush is carried back to the stop CZ. This stop and the pivot-bolt orspindle d form a backing which prevents the brush from turning roundwhen it is thus used to clean the toe or heel. It will be understoodthat the foot is given a quick swinging movement back and forth betweenthe two brushes, which, being on free pivots, with no springs or otherobstruction to their pivoted movement, respond quickly to the movementof the foot. Thus suppose the cleaner to be in the position seen in fulllines, Fig. l, and a foot is introduced, as shown, the two brushes willbear the relation there shown till the bulge of the foot passes to andbeyond their pivoted center, when `the brushes will first becomeparallel and then gradually pass to the position seen in Fig. 2, thusclosing in on the heel of the foot and effectively cleaning its sides.The short swing of the brushes does not materially diminish theircleansing, while the fact that they swing as shown has many advantagesin practical use. The foot being carried through from the position seenin Fig. l to the position in Fig. 2, it is in position to swing in theopposite direction back to the starting-point. (Shown in Fig. l.) Thusthe foot may he swung back and forth a few times, and if the heel or toerequire further cleaning the brush D is swung around for that purpose,as in dotted lines, Fig. l.

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on its axis to expose the entire face of the 1o brush to separate use,su'bstantially'as described.

Witness my hand to the foregoing specification this 15th day of May,1890.

ALVIN C. BIRGE.

Witnesses:

H. T. FISHER, NELLIE L. MCLANE.

